What we put in: Cold pressed edible oils, butters and milks. Extracts, infusions, activated and whole botanicals along with clays, honey, fruit and vegetables. Basically, ingredients you can recognise, most of which are edible.

Organic?

Although we use many organic ingredients here at Washpool we are not Certified Organic as a company under Australian Certified Organic standards, therefore we do not make organic claims about the complete product.

Wherever possible and practical we will choose organic ingredients but there are times when this does not fit with our mission. Here are some of the times when we choose not to buy organic:
a) if the ingredient is already organic but we are required to pay extra for a certificate to be issued we are satisfied that we simply know it's organic (our coconut oil is organic but requires us to pay for a certificate if we want to be certified).
b) if there's a good option for raw materials in Australia and the only organic option is imported we will most likely choose the Australian product (our extra virgin olive oil, for example).
c) if the price of the organic option pushed the price of the finished product up unreasonably we would choose the conventional option, simply because our mission is to make sure our soap is affordable to as many people as possible.

We place particular emphasis on sourcing organic ingredients where it will be used to formulate a leave-on product (as opposed to a wash-off product). For example, virtually all ingredients in our Face Oil are organic because it's arguable that this is where it matters most to use the cleanest of ingredients.

Sometimes you might see the words "certified organic" on the website description but not on the actual product label. Often we cannot fit the additional organic information on a label and therefore we tend to drop off those words to keep the ingredients list to a minimum.

Certified organic certification is not without its' problems and limitations. There are certified organic products on the market that contain very little in the way of quality, beneficial ingredients. And there are beneficial ingredients (like clays and salts) that cannot be certified organic, so sometimes formulations can be compromised where certified organic status must be maintained.

At Washpool we've chosen to tread the middle ground, to stretch to organic where it's important and to provide the best quality natural products we can at all times.

Major ingredients

Avocado Oil - Avocado oil is a nourishing unsaturated oil, rich in vitamins A, D & E, and is easily absorbed by the skin due to it’s high Oleic acid content. It can help with sun-damaged and dehydrated skin and is ideal for softening mature skin. Avocado oil is made from pressing the pit of avocados.

Organic Raw Cacao Butter - Cacao butter is extracted from Cacao beans (which are used to make chocolate). We use food-grade unrefined cacao butter which smells very chocolatey (yum!). Cacao butter contributes to the hardness and lather of our soaps. It protects the skin by providing a protective barrier that helps with retaining moistures and because of its natural antioxidants, it can help with dry skin and wrinkles.

Castor Oil - Castor oil comes from pressing the beans from castor bean plants. It acts as a humectant, which draws moisture to the skin and provides a protective barrier. It can be helpful for sunburn and other burns, skin irritation and inflammation. It helps with creating luxurious lathers.

Clays - we use clays in our products for both their natural colours and for their other properties, which vary depending on the clay. Clays are the only colouring agent we use, we do not use any artificial colours. Clays can help exfoliate and soften your skin. Some of the main clays we use are:

Bentonite Clay - created from volcanic ash. Bentonite clay helps give our products “slip” which makes it useful in our shaving soaps. It absorbs oils and is good on oily skin.

Brazilian Clay - provide a variety of colours for our soaps and is particularly good for sensitive skin. Clays help pull oil from the skin.

Kaolin Clay - is a gentle clay with less liquid absorbing properties than other clays, which is helpful for sensitive and dry skin.

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil - Coconut oil comes from pressing coconut flesh. We use food-grade virgin coconut oil. The lauric acid naturally present in our organic virgin coconut oil and coconut cream helps make a harder soap bar, while also contributing to deep cleansing and a big fluffy lather. It helps soften the skin and is easily absorbed. It is a core ingredient in our soaps.

Essential Oils - Our skincare products are scented with essential oils only. We do not use any artificial scents in any products intended for use on the skin*. We are careful to only use essential oils that are skin-friendly. We do also offer a range of scent-free products for those of you that can’t tolerate any scents.

Goat’s Milk - We use fresh goat’s milk from our neighbours in our Goat’s Milk range. Goat’s milk is extremely moisturising and helps soften & soothe the skin. The PH of goat’s milk is similar to that of human skin and is full of nutrients. Some people with sensitive skin that can’t tolerate other products find that goat’s milk soaps are helpful.

Honey - Manuka - Manuka honey comes from bees in New Zealand that harvest from the manuka shrub, and has been found to have highly therapeutic properties, including in wound healing. We use manuka honey in our lip balms and in our scent-free Manuka Honey & Goat's Milk soap bars.

Jojoba - Jojoba is a wax from seeds of the Jojoba shrub, found in southern USA and Mexico. Jojoba oil'ssimilarity to sebum allows it to penetrate and moisturise the skin’s deeper layers without clogging pores and the skin is still able to breathe easily. It can help with retaining moisture and preventing the growth of microorganisms. It is rich in proteins and minerals and can help soothe irritated skin. We use 100% pure cold-pressed Australian Jojoba from Jojoba Natural, in South-east Queensland. We use jojoba oil in our lip balms and facial serums.

Macadamia Oil - We use food-grade macadamia oil, which is produced from macadamia nuts. Macadamia oil has similar properties to the sebum in human skin, and is used for helping rejuvenate mature, dry & ageing skin.

Mineral Colour

Neem Oil - Neem oil is extracted from seeds of the neem tree, a native to India. It is valued for it’s antiseptic, antifungal, antibacterial & bug-repelling properties. It is a key ingredient in our dog shampoos.

Olive Oil (Extra Virgin) - We use food-grade extra virgin olive oil. Applied to the skin, it is helpful for dry skin, inflammation, wounds and burns. It is suitable for people with sensitive skin and babies and has excellent skin conditioning and emollient properties.

Rainwater

Organic Shea butter - Shea butter is obtained from the nuts of the shea or karite tree in West Africa. It is helpful in moisturising and hydrating skin. Traditional African healers value it for it’s anti-ageing and moisturising properties.

Sunflower Oil - Sunflower oil is made from the seeds of sunflowers. It is full of essential fatty acids and vitamin E, is great for mature, dry & sensitive skin.

Tallow - Saponified Tallow (hand-rendered, local). We use hand-rendered tallow from local grass-fed cattle. Tallow has a long history of being the main ingredient in traditional soaps, but has fallen out of favour in recent years. Tallow makes for a long-lasting and hard traditional soaps, and can be found in our Purist range.

Vitamin E - Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant found in many fruits and vegetables and can help protect skin against free radicals. It can help with the appearance of skin blemishes. We use Vitamin E in our balms and facial serums.

Other ingredients

Activated Charcoal - activated charcoal is charcoal that has been heated in such a way that it creates spaces & a large surface area that can help trap chemicals and impurities. It has often been used internally to help adsorb poisons, and Melissa has been known to administer some of her activated charcoal to local pets that have mistakenly eaten poisons. Charcoal helps absorb and draw out oil and impurities from the skin. We use activated charcoal in our Activated Charcoal Salt Bar and in our Charcoal Facial Cleanser.

Aloe vera (Barbadensis) - Aloe vera is used for it’s refreshing, soothing and restorative properties. It can help with flaky & dry skin, and in treating wounds and burns (including sunburn). It can help protect & moisturise the skin. It contains antioxidants including beta-carotene, vitamin C and E. Aloe Vera is a cactus plant, the part used is the gel inside the leaves. We use aloe vera in our Facial Cleansers.

Argan oil - Argania spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil - Argan oil is produced in Morocco from the nuts of Argania spinosa and is rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It is restorative, nourishing and emollient, and is useful when applied to dry, sunburnt and mature skin.

Beeswax - Beeswax helps solidify our balms and provides the skin with nutrients and a protective barrier. We use it in our lip balms and moisture balm.

Bicarbonate Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)

Camelia oil comes from the same plant that Green Tea is made from. Camelia oil is high in oleic acid (oleic up to 80% and linoleic acid 9%) and rich in Vitamins A, B, and E, which provide antioxidant, disinfectant and germicidal properties.

Evening Primrose oil (aka starflower oil) is extracted from the seeds of Evening Primrose flowers and can help heal and reduce inflammation in skin. It contains gamma linolenic acid, which is thought to play an important role in maintaining healthy skin. Some studies have suggested that it is lacking in some people with eczema.

Glycerin (from Soy & Maize Oil)

Grapeseed oil is a light oil, well suited to facial applications and with helping control oily facial skin. It has a good deal of vitamin E, which provides antioxidants for your skin, and is also high in linoleic acid which may help reduce clogged pores.

Madder Root, also known as Rubia cordifolia root, is one of the earliest natural sources of red/pink dyes. We use it as a natural colourant.

Magnesium Chloride

Meadowfoam oil - made from the seeds of the meadowfoam plant. It provides ultraviolet protection, moisturises and provides a protective skin barrier.

Olive Leaf helps with skin elasticity, is an antioxidant, and soothes and hydrates the skin.

Olive Squalane - Olive Squalane is a light and stable version of olive oil squalene with a long shelf life. It is an emollient & skin conditioner. Often referred to as “mother nature’s facelift”, Squalane is found in human sebum at a level of 12 per cent.

Rosehip oil - from the fruit of the rose that is formed after the flower petals fall. Rosehip oil is particularly helpful for mature skin as it is restorative and wrinkle-fighting. It is a very rich source of essential fatty acids – in fact, it is 80 per cent fatty acids. These are vital for regenerating skin cells and repairing skin tissue.

Rosemary Extract is a natural antioxidant, and helps keep oils fresh and extends their longevity.

Salt - Salts are useful for exfoliation. Salt bars are known for their rich and creamy lather.

We do use Goat's Milk and Tallow in some of our bars, and these ingredients are sourced from the Ballandean region. The Goat's Milk is sourced from our neighbours and is hand-milked from a small herd of well cared for nanny goats. The tallow is sourced from our own farm and other farms nearby (grass-fed & free-range) and would otherwise be a waste product. Our lip balms and shea butter moisture balm include beeswax, and our Wet Shaving Soaps include tallow. We also use beeswax in our lip balms and shea butter moisture balm.